Winner Creek Trail Girdwood 2026 — Hand Tram, Gorge Hike & Day Trip from Anchorage

The parking lot behind the Alyeska Resort in Girdwood is where Winner Creek Trail begins, and within fifteen minutes you’re walking through old-growth Sitka spruce and hemlock that feels nothing like the urban trailheads forty minutes up the Seward Highway. The canopy closes overhead, the light goes green and diffuse, and the trail — soft with decomposed needles — winds alongside moving water through one of the finest lowland forest walks in Southcentral Alaska. The destination is a hand-operated tram spanning Winner Creek canyon: a small wooden car pulled by rope across a narrow gorge where the creek drops between walls of mossy rock. Getting there is straightforward. The experience sticks.

Trail Overview

Winner Creek Trail is approximately 8.5 to 9 miles round trip with around 500 feet of cumulative elevation gain — enough for a full morning without requiring an early alpine start or technical fitness. The trail is rated moderate, though “moderate” in the Chugach National Forest often means muddy. Girdwood receives substantial precipitation, and the rainfall that sustains the old-growth forest also keeps the trail wet through most of the season. Waterproof boots with solid traction are not optional; regular trail runners will be soaked within the first mile. Most hikers complete the round trip in four to five hours at a comfortable pace with time at the gorge.

The Hand Tram

The hand-operated tram at Winner Creek gorge is the reason most people make the trip. The tram is a small wooden car suspended on a cable spanning roughly 50 feet above the creek — entirely human-powered, operated by pulling a rope hand over hand. No engine, no operator. You load in and pull yourself across. The gorge below narrows to a slot where the creek rushes through polished rock, visible through gaps in the tram car floor.

The crossing takes under a minute but delivers: the gorge view, the rope-pull mechanism, and the exposure make it the trail’s defining moment. Children old enough to follow instructions handle it without difficulty. On busy summer weekends, a queue develops at the tram — arriving before 9am or after 4pm avoids the wait.

After crossing, the trail continues another mile through forest on the far side. Most visitors cross, spend time at the gorge, and return by tram to retrace the approach.

Old-Growth Forest and Wildlife

Winner Creek Trail passes through one of the most accessible old-growth forest corridors near Anchorage. The Sitka spruce and hemlock here are large by Southcentral standards, and the understory is dense with devil’s club, ferns, and moss-covered nurse logs — closer in character to Southeast Alaska coastal rainforest than the birch-dominated hillside habitat most Anchorage trails traverse.

Moose frequent the creek corridor, particularly in the willows along the lower sections. Black bears are present throughout the Girdwood drainage; hiking in groups and making noise in dense brush is standard practice. Bald eagles are visible in the taller spruce near the water. Bear spray is worth carrying — the trail runs through productive bear habitat throughout summer.

Getting There from Anchorage

The trailhead is at the Alyeska Resort in Girdwood — approximately 40 miles south of downtown Anchorage via the Seward Highway, about 40 to 45 minutes under normal conditions. From the highway, take the Alyeska Highway exit into Girdwood and follow it to the resort. Trailhead parking is available in the hotel lot; look for the signed trailhead behind the main building. GPS navigation to “Alyeska Resort, Girdwood” is reliable. No parking fee is required for trail users, though the lot fills on peak summer weekends — arriving early solves this. No transit connects Anchorage to the trailhead; a rental car is required.

Pairing with Girdwood

The trailhead’s location at Alyeska Resort makes it easy to combine the hike with other Girdwood activities. The Alyeska Resort Aerial Tram offers a completely different angle on the same terrain — the tram summit shows the vertical scale of the Chugach drainage that the forest walk doesn’t convey. A morning hike followed by an afternoon tram ride covers two genuinely different perspectives on the same terrain.

For post-hike recovery, Girdwood Brewing Company is a short drive from the trailhead with outdoor seating and views of the surrounding peaks. Muddy boots and a well-earned beer with mountain views: a reasonable way to close a Girdwood day trip.

Season and Conditions

The trail is hikeable from late May through September. June through August is peak season; September brings drier weather and fall color in the alders along the lower creek. The hand tram operates through the summer season — verify current status on the Chugach National Forest website before making the drive, as the tram is occasionally closed for maintenance.

Winner Creek Trail delivers old-growth forest, a hand-operated gorge crossing, and no technical demands beyond the ability to hike on wet ground for a few hours. The drive from Anchorage is scenic, the trail is quiet by Southcentral standards, and the tram crossing is the kind of thing that stays in memory long after more dramatic hikes have blurred. Get your boots muddy.

Featured photo by Emma Buchman on Pexels.

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